RESUMEN Fundamento: Dos de las tres formas en que se presentan los quistes intracraneales de la línea media anterior son: cavum septum pellucidum y cavum vergae; estos normalmente desaparecen después ...del nacimiento, de persistir suelen ser asintomáticos, pero también pueden estar asociados a manifestaciones obstructivas, trastornos psicóticos o alteraciones del neurodesarrollo que demandan de un seguimiento clínico. Objetivo: Reportar el caso de un paciente de 6 meses con persistencia de estructuras del periodo embrionario en posible asociación con retraso del desarrollo psicomotor. Presentación de caso: Por lo infrecuente que resulta en la práctica, se informa el caso de un paciente de 6 meses con una persistencia del cavum septum pellucidum y cavum vergae en el que se destaca la posible asociación del retraso del neurodesarrollo a la persistencia de estas estructuras. El diagnóstico se realizó de forma precoz y se intervino oportunamente. Conclusiones: La presentación del caso aportó evidencias epidemiológicas que favorecen la posible asociación entre la persistencia de estas estructuras embrionarias y el retraso del desarrollo psicomotor.
Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is a field of biological science dedicated to investigating how different interventions during development affect an individual's life. Diet is an ...essential way to interact with the environment, and during pregnancy affects not only the mother but also can impact the next generations. One of these interventions is caloric restriction (CR), which has shown positive redox modulation in rats' offspring when malnutrition is responsibly controlled. Considering that mitochondrial metabolism is determinant for redox status, we investigated parameters related to mitochondrial functionality and reactive species levels in offspring's brain from rats delivered to pregnant caloric restricted dams. Therefore, pregnant rats were divided between control (ad libitum food) and CR (20% food restriction plus micronutrients supplementation) groups, and offspring's brain was analyzed on post-natal days (PND) 0, 7, 21, and 60. Mitochondrial function, as well as superoxide content, were decreased in most brain areas on PND0 and went through adaptation, showing increased mass and membrane potential in adulthood. Concerning mitochondrial electron transport system (METS), the most affected area was the cerebellum, which was impaired at birth and activated at adulthood. In conclusion, our results show that gestational CR promotes adaptation from impaired mitochondrial parameters at birth, improving mitochondrial function when compared to control, without increasing superoxide generation, at adult age. More studies are necessary in order to support the use of CR as a clinical approach.
Introduction: Caloric restriction (CR) has been proven to promote a series of health benefits from yeast to primates. Nowadays, increasing rates of obesity certainly encourage researchers to evaluate ...CR effects and establish it as a therapeutic approach. Maternal obesity is also a concern, and studies in the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) have shown the importance of interventions during pregnancy, especially those involving maternal nutrition. On the other hand, undernutrition during pregnancy leads to increased weight gain, disturbed feeding behavior and dysfunctional metabolism in adulthood.
Methods: In this way, we utilized moderate CR (20% compared to control consumption) in pregnant Wistar rats as intervention, with malnutrition control by micronutrients supplementation. We assessed CR effects on offspring's developmental milestones, feeding behavior, exploratory behavior, and memory on adolescence (PND21) and adulthood (PND60).
Results: We did not find alterations on litter size or birth weight, although CR pups were leaner at adult ages. Importantly, no delay in development was observed. Besides, female pups showed earlier suction reflex and male pups showed earlier response to the negative geotaxis. CR pups also showed less preference for palatable food (Froot Loops®) at adult age, which could be decisive on obesity tendency. Locomotor activity was increased by CR on PND60 and there was no effect on memory at all.
Discussion: Our results on development and behavior demonstrate that gestational CR may be a helpful health strategy if malnutrition is well controlled, with potential clinical impact.
The visual analogue scale (VAS) is an established, validated, self-report measure usually consisting of a 10 cm line on paper with verbal anchors labeling the ends. Palmtop computers (PTCs also known ...as personal digital appliances) have incorporated VAS entry by use of a touch screen. However, the validity and psychophysical properties of the electronic VAS have never been formally compared with the conventional paper VAS. The aim of this study is to determine the agreement between the electronic (eVAS) and paper (pVAS) modes. Twenty-four healthy volunteers were recruited for this study. Each study participant provided input using both measurement methods by marking the eVAS and pVAS in response to two kinds of stimuli, cognitive and sensory. A verbal rating scale of seven descriptors of intensity represented the cognitive stimuli. Participants were asked to mark the location that best corresponded to the pain intensity described by each word on scales from 'no pain' to 'worst possible pain'. The sensory stimuli used were a set of test weights consisting of plastic containers ranging from 7 to 129 g. The VAS for sensory stimuli ranged from 0 (no weight) to 'reference weight' (the heaviest weight outside the range of test weights). There were two types of input stimuli and two modes for recording responses for a total of four experimental conditions. Two evaluators independently measured and recorded all the pVAS forms to the nearest millimeter. A total of 2016 stimuli were rated. The overall correlation for ratings of both sensory and cognitive stimuli on eVAS and pVAS was r = 0.91. For paired verbal stimuli the correlation was r = 0.97. For paired sensory stimuli the correlation was r = 0.86. The correlation between group eVAS and pVAS ratings to common verbal stimuli was r = 0.99. For common sensory stimuli the group correlation was r = 0.99. The median of correlations comparing eVAS and pVAS ratings was 0.99 for verbal stimuli and 0.98 for sensory stimuli. Multivariate analyses showed equivalent stimuli to be rated much the same whether entered on paper VAS or PTC touch screen VAS (P < 0.0001). Support was found for the validity of the computer version of the VAS scale.
In many electrical engineering programs, students are required to demonstrate the success of their capstone design project by building and testing a prototype. Depending on the nature and complexity ...of the design specifications, the final product may be a composite of analog and digital, hardware and software, discrete components and off-the-shelf parts. The students are challenged not just by the design, but by the integration of these various types of technology. However, students are often ill-prepared to meet these challenges because of the nature of most course-based laboratory experiments and a lack of opportunity to work with off-the-shelf parts. To address these challenges, a stand-alone laboratory course was developed and stocked with open-ended laboratory experiences for first semester seniors. Each experience was designed to be completed in 1-3 weeks, including 4-12 hours of lab time. Several of these laboratory design experiences were presented previously at ASEE. This paper and presentation describes several exciting new design experiences that have been developed and deployed over the past three years. Survey results were used to assess the effectiveness of these new design experiences and of the course in general. The student responses were overwhelmingly positive. Students comments included, “Definitely the best class I’ve taken at LMU!” and “If you don’t enjoy this class, you’re in the wrong major.” The new laboratory design experiences will be described in the paper and presentation. Survey results will be presented along with reflections for further developments on this stand-alone lab course.
El artículo muestra un análisis del enfrentamiento a la pandemia de la Covid-19 en Cuba en los primeros meses de su detección en la isla. Para el mismo se toma como referencia el Caribe Insular por ...la existencia de una cercanía geográfica, así como un conjunto de predisposiciones que nos nuclea y nos separa en términos económicos, culturales y sociales, lo cual servirá de base común al desafío que implica la pandemia en aspectos que van desde lo estructural a lo idiosincrático.
Hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection is a serious global public health problem.The infection may be transmitted through sexual intercourse,parenteral contact or from an infected mother to the baby at ...birth and,if contracted early in life,may lead to chronic liver disease,including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.On the basis of the HBV carrier rate,the world can be divided in 3 regions of high,medium and low endemicity.The major concern is about high endemicity countries,where the most common route of infection remains vertical transmission from mother to child.Screening of all pregnant women and passive immunization with human hepatitis B immunoglobulin are not affordable for many developing countries.The infection rate can be reduced by modifying behavior,improving individual education,testing all blood donations,assuring asepsis in clinical practice and screening all pregnant women.However,availability of a safe and efficacious vaccine and adoption of appropriate immunization strategies are the most effective means to prevent HBV infection and its consequences.The unsolved problem for poorest countries,where the number of people currently infected is high,is the cost of the vaccine.A future challenge is to overcome the social and economic hurdles of maintaining and improving a prevention policy worldwide to reduce the global burden of the disease.
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